Former NFL general manager rates quarterbacks, Foles ranked 12th

Former NFL general manager rates quarterbacks, Foles ranked 12th

Would you rather have Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and highest-rated passer in the NFL Nick Foles under center, or Seattle Seahawks signal-caller and world champion Russell Wilson?

There’s been an ongoing debate in Philadelphia as to how good Foles really is, whether mobile quarterbacks are better than pocket passers and, specifically in our comment section, where Foles ranks compared to today’s field generals such as Wilson. Thanks to The Sideline View, now we have a former NFL executive’s opinion on the matter.

Jerry Angelo spent over 30 years as a scout and executive at the pro level, including 11 years as general manager of the Chicago Bears from 2001-11. He rated every quarterback based on their performance in 2013 and broke them up into eight tiers.

Foles landed on tier two. The players in this grouping fell under the following description:

Played at a high level. Was one of the reasons – but not the reason – for his team’s success... not elite.

Ben Roethlisberger, Wilson, Colin Kapernick and Alex Smith(?!) were all just ahead of Foles. Here’s what Angelo had to say specifically about the Birds’ QB:

Put up top numbers and achieved the best QB rating in football. Once they made the change to him, they won. He knows how to protect the ball and get them in the end zone. Oakland got a dose of how good he is doing it.

Again, Angelo’s rankings appear to be based specifically on 2013. Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford were listed on the next tier down summarized as “Talented… but had a subpar year,” indicating those players could move up. Two tiers lower finds Robert Griffin III with “strong traits but hasn’t done it,” with a career trajectory that could go either way.

For what it’s worth, Michael Vick falls on the second-to-last tier, “temporary relief, but not a long term solution.” Matt Barkley did not play enough to be graded.

It’s a much more clinical look than just your conventional list. Putting the passers in defined tiers makes more sense, as you can get a better feel for whom the elites are, and who has room to grow and move up.

I don’t agree with every rating 100 percent. In my mind, Alex Smith is more of a tier-four quarterback—“solid traits but limited.” I’d also bump Joe Flacco out of that fourth group and move him up to “talented… but had a subpar year.”

Overall, it’s a strong list from a scouting perspective and good fodder for our debates. Foles appears to be pretty much right where he belongs based on his 2013. Where he goes from there will be determined by his much-anticipated follow-up campaign.

“I understand all the criticism and stuff,” Ertz said on Wednesday. “I’m not going to get into the details of every thought I had on that play. I’m focused on giving this city everything I have on each and every play. I promise going forward, I will do that. I think I have done that in the past.

"I understand how it looks on the film, but I’m not going to get into the minute details of what I saw on the play and what I didn’t see on the play and how it impacted the play and vice versa. I’m focused on getting better. I know I’m far from a finished product as a tight end. I’m looking forward to this week against the Redskins.”

Dave Spadaro was a guest on Philly Sports Talk this week and was also asked about the play. Guess what he had to say? You can watch the video above.

Joel Embiid 'shoots the ball with the touch of like Steph Curry'

Joel Embiid 'shoots the ball with the touch of like Steph Curry'

NEW ORLEANS -- Of all the players Joel Embiid could be compared to, a similarity between a 7-foot-2, 270-something-pound center and a 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard wouldn’t seem like a match.

That’s exactly what Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry sees, however, when looking at Embiid and reigning MVP Steph Curry.

“He’s different than anybody that’s been in this league in a long, long time,” Gentry said Thursday before the Sixers win over the Pelicans. “He’s a tremendous talent, he really is. I’ve never seen a guy that size, and with that kind of strength, that’s got such a soft touch. He shoots the ball with the touch of like Steph Curry. It’s so soft when it leaves his hand.”

Curry is shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three. Embiid is 45.8 percent from the floor is 44.2 percent from long range.

Embiid flashed a big smile and paused to react when hearing of Gentry’s praise. He had been feeling hard on himself after going 0 for 5 beyond the arc against the Pelicans (see story).

“Steph is probably one of the best shooters in the league right now," Embiid said. "So that compliment means a lot."